The Art of Bluegrass 2015

Hearing live  bluegrass music in the sunshine, set among the tall pines in Flagstaff Arizona. What could be better? 
Here I am volunteering at    " Pickin' in the Pines" Bluegrass and Acoustic music festival this past weekend.  What fun  hearing such a fantastic group of musical artists. It lasts three days,and seven or eight bands each day. Early til late, and I was there for it all!
The headliner, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, was top notch. I also liked hearing  music of the other musicians.  Fiddle; mandolin; guitar; and base are present in most of the groups. Lots of these sounds have a long history in our country. 
Who can forget the energy of the Hogslop Stringband out of Nashville? Or not remember such an artistic handle ? Laurie Lewis and the Righthands have been around a while, but were new to me. The young musicians of  Mountain Heart had every one movin'. So many others with whom I connected musically.
This year was my first as a volunteer, although I have attended for the past eight years. This whole shebang is a volunteer effort of FFOTM, Flagstaff Friends of Traditional Music. I am a member. I started out at the contra dances they sponsor.
It was a pleasure to help in  their booth, selling raffle tickets and memberships. Bonnie and Terry Alan from the Flagstaff School of Music did a huge amount of work, as did so many others in the organization. 
I am happy I was a part of this musical adventure, listening to art of bluegrass, 2015 style!

 

The Wall of Masks Behind Me

Here I am in front of the wall of masks that I have created. I am a featured guest artist in the "Movin On" Gallery  for the month of September.This is located here in my very own Sedona, AZ.,  for those of you from far away. 
That is an interesting aspect of writing a blog. There are many readers out in the world that connect to my words and images. Some know me; some probably stumbled into sedonaartist.blogspot.com by accident; others might be  drawn in by an appreciation of masks. My focus is on the art that I create, or the art of my life, perhaps.
 I like making masks.I love that you buy one to look at. It is not functional art, except to the eye  and the soul.  People often ask me how I get the idea for creating a certain image. I say  the mask itself often dictates which  direction I take.
I  usually create a series in a certain style  mask. It takes a while to work out  technical challenges, with both clay,  glaze, and presentation. People  are looking  for an identifiable style within an artist's body of work. If something sells well, then one is encouraged to continue in that direction.
Every mask is made individually. There is a feel to the wall behind me, but they are each unique, as they will always be.